Saturday, July 21, 2012

On writers and writing...

I just finished reading (and looking at) a fun and inspiring book about writers, their libraries and reading history: Unpacking My Library: Writers and Their Books, edited by Leah Price. The book has photographs of their libraries and bookshelves, interviews (with great questions!) and their top ten list of books. There were some excellent quotes (see example below) and many of the books on their top ten lists, I had to add to my “must-read” list.
“…the more sophisticated you are, the more annotated your mental life.”- Rebecca Goldstein, from her book Thirty-six Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction
Some of the writers included are: Alison Bechdel, Junot Díaz, Claire Messud and Philip Pullman. My only criticism is the length. I would have loved to see more writers featured.
I realized while reading it, that writers are really fascinating people. I already felt that way, but hadn’t articulated it for myself. I also enjoy reading the weekend column, Word Craft, in the Wall Street Journal. Written by different writers, it covers different aspects of writing. This week, Anna Quindlen writes about inspiration and her dislike of writing:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432704577348020550966282.html
The Financial Times features a short interview with an author each weekend.This week, it’s David Park:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/cdbfcfa8-83bb-11e1-82ca-00144feab49a.html#axzz1smauqRTX
If you’re an avid reader, an aspiring writer, and/or someone who just appreciates intelligent conversation and references, you’ll enjoy the book and the two columns I’ve provided links for.